The Iraqi Cabinet issued a number of decisions during its regular session today, Tuesday, including approval of regulations for the organization of interactions with guarantee letters issued for the benefit of involved parties and obligating the Ministry of Finance to settle the dues of the Iraqi Trade Bank related to the Kurdistan Region.
The media office of the Iraqi Prime Minister stated that "Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani chaired today’s regular twelfth session of the Cabinet, during which the general conditions in the country were discussed, as well as an overview of important service and economic files, with deliberation on agenda items and necessary decisions made regarding them."
In the field of energy, the Council voted on the following:
1. Approval of granting the Minister of Finance, or someone authorized by her, the authority to sign with relevant parties to amend the loan agreement for the rehabilitation of the Babel 400 kV station, funded by the Swedish loan with (JPM) Bank.
2. Approval of the financing terms for the loan according to the Ministry of Finance letter dated February 25, 2024.
Furthermore, based on the government’s priorities focusing on administrative reform, the Council voted to:
1. Approve regulations for organizing the conduct of beneficiary parties with guarantee letters issued for their benefit, taking into account the comments of the Economic Cabinet, recorded in its letter dated January 14, 2024, and amending Article (17) of the aforementioned regulations as noted in the memo from the legal department of the General Secretariat of the Cabinet, dated March 14, 2023.
2. Approve the acceptance of a certified check or guarantee letter, considering the validity period of the certified check, with the beneficiary party required to renew it before expiration until the need ceases, according to established procedures.
In a step towards financial and banking reform, the Cabinet mandated the federal Ministry of Finance to settle the dues of the Iraqi Trade Bank/TBI, related to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in annual monthly installments for the years 2023 and 2024, amounting to 636 billion dinars each year, to be deducted from the region's allocations for 2024, to be subsequently withheld.
The session also approved recommendations related to measures for settling external claims, according to Cabinet decisions 28 of 2014 and 48 of 2018 as follows:
1. Amendments to paragraphs (1 and 2) of Cabinet decision 28 of 2014:
a. Amend paragraph (1) to authorize ministries and non-ministerial entities to negotiate with creditor companies that have a definitive court ruling, which have seized Iraqi government funds abroad, or have not seized them in a consensual settlement, at a percentage less than the principal debt without interest, while granting them preference in contracting with state departments in one of the projects or government contracts in exchange for writing off the full debt amount and its interests, and voiding the lawsuit filed.
b. Amend paragraph (2) to state that negotiation and formation of negotiation committees from relevant parties should be overseen by the Ministry of Justice, which is exclusively concerned with following up on external lawsuits and presenting each case individually for Cabinet approval.
c. Continue to operate under Cabinet decision 48 of 2018.
2. Consider the opinion of the legal department in the General Secretariat of the Cabinet.
The statement mentioned that the session included the approval of the following:
First: Cancellation of the recommendations from the sixth meeting of the Chinese Framework Agreement issued by Cabinet decision (24006 of 2024).
Second: Cancellation of Cabinet decision (24059 of 2024) concerning the completion of the New Nasiriyah warehouse and model school buildings, funded by the Chinese agreement.
Third: Adoption of the projects approved by Cabinet decision (24130 of 2023), with an annual allocation of (7059) billion dinars, instead of (7137) billion dinars.
Additionally, the following was voted on during the session:
1. Removal of the project to establish an international stadium in the center of Nineveh Governorate at a cost of 22,813,000,000 dinars, based on technical reports from the advisory office at Al-Mustansiriya University’s Engineering College, which recommended complete demolition of the structure including the foundations, as well as the advisory committee's consultant for technical affairs, endorsing the advisory office’s opinion for total demolition of the foundations, considering the amounts spent on the project and work accomplishment rates, and transferring the amounts held in the project account after its deletion in accordance with the rules and instructions issued by the Ministry of Planning.
2. Consider the request to include a project for the construction of the central Nineveh stadium with an indoor sports hall on the right bank of Mosul as a turnkey project, within the governorate’s projects for 2023 (revised schedule E) outlined in the Public Federal Budget Law (13 of 2023), with a total amount of 36,200,000,000 dinars after fulfilling all related inclusion requirements.
3. Nineveh Governorate shall bear full responsibility for the accuracy and validity of the information submitted to the Ministry of Planning.
The media office report also stated that regarding the contract with the Turkish Tarmash Company for the school buildings project, the Council issued a decision approving the acceptance of the previously submitted guarantee letter to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, concerning the contract outside the electronic guarantee letter platform, until sufficient liquidity is available to the company to renew the guarantee letter within the electronic platform.
Moreover, the Council approved the Ministry of Finance contracting with the Scientific Consulting Office at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research/Baghdad University/College of Science; to complete the update of the Public Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), as an exception from the instructions for executing government contracts (2 of 2014).
It was noted that approval was granted to sell residential plots starting from property number (45373 to 49551 M/21 Haidaria) amounting to (4176) plots, separated from the area of two land pieces numbered (42062/1, and 42063/1) in sector (21) Haidaria, to the personnel of the General Secretariat of the Holy Al-Husseiniya Shrine, exempting from public auction procedures, based on the provisions of the Law on Sale and Rental of State Property No. (21) of 2013 as amended, and replacing it with a lottery system, according to the rules from non-beneficiaries of Cabinet decision (20 of 2019), considering articles (4 and 15/First/A) of the aforementioned law.
Furthermore, in the context of organizing labor unions, the recommendation of the Ministerial Council for Human Development (24004 B) of 2024 was approved, which includes obliging the Engineering Syndicate to address the registration of engineering colleges and departments and their accreditation within the Engineers Syndicate.
The Council also approved granting the Director General of the General Tax Authority the authority to negotiate and initial sign a draft agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion on income and capital between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the Republic of Latvia, based on constitutional provisions, and granting the Minister of Finance the authority for final negotiation and signing of the aforementioned project.
The statement concluded by mentioning that the Iraqi Cabinet session also saw the approval of a draft law for the ratification of the Republic of Iraq on the air services agreement between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and its referral to the House of Representatives, based on constitutional provisions.
